Flexible protective shield



Jan. 26, 1954 u. TORRlCELLl 2,666,922

FLEXIBLE PROTECTIVE SHIELD Filed Dec. 14, 1950 1N VEN TOR. U60 T'ORRICELLI ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1954 FLEXIBLE rao'rno'rlvc SHIELD Ugo Torricell-i, New York, N. Y.,- assignor to Torricclli Creations, Inc., New York, N. Y,

Application December 14, 1950, Serial No. 200,786

This invention relates to a protective shield adapted to be worn about the head to protect the face and neck against hot blasts of air delivered from a hair dryer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective shield which can be applied about the head and adapted, when extended therearound, to assume a downwardly and outwardly inclined position whereby to direct blasts of air from a hair dryer downwardly and out wardly away from the face and neck of the wearer.

It is another object of the invention to provide a flexible protective shield which, during use, will be outwardly and downwardly inclined from the head when secured therearound and which can be formed of a single piece of flat material of a special shape at the rear ends thereof and configured so that when it is placed around a persons head and tied, the downward flexure of the same will cause the overlapping and closing of the trailing or rear end portions thereby to protect the neck from the hot air blasts.

It is another object of the invention to provide in a protective head shield an adequate strip or band arrangement along the inner edge of the shield to render the shield comfortable upon the head of the wearer and wherein the ends of said shield are separated until the shield is tied around the head of the wearer, a tie cord being for a portion of its length threaded through the strip and the inner marginal portion of the and being also passed through marginal portions of a net so that the net will be secured along with the band by the tie cord and thus secured in position to hold the hair at the top of the head while the drying action is being effected thereupon.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a protective shield to protect the wearer against hot blasts of air from a hair dryer which is of simple construction, formed from a fiat piece of stock material in a manner to be readily applied and shaped about the head, inexpensive to manufacture. and of pleasing appearance and efficient m use.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. l is a side elevational View showing in use a protective shield constructed according to one form of the invention, and including a top net.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the protective shield shown in Fig. 1.

1 Claim. (Cl'. 2-174) Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view looking at the under side of the shield shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of the shield with the trailing ends drawn together under the downward collapse of the front and side portions of the shield.

Big. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig '7 is a fragmentary and sectional view of a portion of the shield shown in Fig. 5 to illustrate the manner of attaching the band and the use of the tie cord for securing the band to the inner edge of the shield.

The shield shown in Figs. 1 through 4 is of hat-like construction and has a brim formed of flexible sheet material and a crown formed of net. The brim consists of a single strip of sheet material which is wide enough to prevent hot air striking the face of a person wearing the shield and is of uniform thickness throughout its length and width. This strip is substantially U-shaped for the major portion of its length and has a front portion is and side portions H and I2 which converge rearwardly of the shield and terminate in outwardly widened end portions 63 and 54-. Inner side edges of the widened end portions constitute continuation's of the inner side edge of the U-shaped portion and outer side edges of the end portions are arouate longitudinally and merge into end edges of the strip which are also a rcuate and merge into the inner side edges of the end portions as well as merging into the ar'cuate outer side edges thereof.

By having the end portions l3 and i l outwardly widened and of the outline shown in Fig. 2, they may be readily overlapped when drawn towards each other and thus allow the flexible strip or brim to be constricted for close comfortable fit about a persons head and in addition provide the with a wide rear portion which tapers towards its rear end, as shown in Fig. :5, and is of double thickness for a substantial portion of its area and very effectively protects the back or nape or a persons neck from excessive heating by hot air from a hair drier 22 of the type used in 'beauty parl'ors. The front portion ii! and the side portions Hand l2 extend outwardly from a p rsons head at-a downward incline, as shown in Fig. 1 and very-effectively shield front and side portions of the face and, therefore.

all portions of the face and neck are protected from the hot air of the drier and the skin will not be burned or otherwise injuriously affected.

In order that the shield will be comfortable when worn and prevent the inner side edge of the U-shaped portion from digging into a person's skin along the scalp line, there has been provided a band l5 which is formed of soft pliable material and has flat upper and lower surfaces. This band extends along the under surface of the inner side edge portion of the flexible strip and is of such length that its ends terminate adjacent ends of the inner edge of the U-shaped portion. Aligned openings are formed through the band and the flexible strip and through these openings a tie cord I6 is laced. The tie cord is threaded inwardly and outwardly through the openings and extends longitudinally of the band and has loose end portions I7 and I8 of such length that they may be readily grasped and pull exerted to constrict the shield about a persons head, the end portions of the cord being then tied together to form a bow knot is and thus firmly but releasably hold the shield in place.

The net 2! which forms the crown of the hat-like shield fits over and about the top of the persons head in covering and confining relation to the hair and has front and side portions of its marginal edge tucked between the band [5 and the inner edge portion of the brim where it is secured by the tie cord which passes through the net, as shown in Fig. 4, as well as through the band and the brim. The rear edge portion of the net extending between ends of the band is free, thus allowing ends of the U- shaped portion of the brim to be readily drawn towards each other and the wide end portions of the brim-forming strip overlapped when pull is exerted upon the cord and the knot 19 tied.

From the above description it will be seen that as the shield is placed about the head and the tie cord ends I! and [8 are tightened, the end portions l3 and Id of the shield will overlap one another and the entire shield will assume the shape shown in Fig. 1. The net 2| will extend over the top of the head and will not interfere with the use of the dryer 22 over the head. The hot air blasts from the dryer will, upon striking the downwardly inclined shield, be directed outwardly and away from the face and neck of the wearer. The end portions [3 and I4, upon overlapping, as shown in Fig. 5,

will form a continuous and complete shield to provide full protection entirely around the head.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, there is shown a modified form of the invention wherein the net is not used and the soft strip or band is connected to the inner edge of the shield in a different manner The shield itself is in the same form as the previously described embodiment of the invention and the end portions [3 and M are shown in their fully overlapped position. This is effected readily by drawing together the ends of cord or ribbon 24 and by tying knot 23. The cord or ribbon 24 is laced through a plurality of holes 25 in the shield and about a band 26 folded over the inner edge of the shield in the manner of spiral overcast stitching whereby to hold the band 26 in place in straddling relation to the edge of the shield. Upon release of the tie cord, the shield can be opened or expanded and then will rest in a flat position on a flat surface. The end portions 13 and 14 may thus be separated from one another. The tying of the shield about the head and the tightening thereof cause the downward inclination of the entire shield, as will be understood by referring to Fig. 1.

It will now be seen that there has been provided a protective shield for use in beauty parlors which is of simple but highly effective and inexpensive construction, and easy to apply and shape about the head of the wearer and wherein, by the use of the tie cord, a band or a band and net is secured to the inner periphery of the shield for the purposes above set forth.

While various changes may be made in the details of construction, it will be understood that such changes are deemed to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A hat-like protective shield for use upon and about a person's head comprising a brim consisting of a strip of flexible sheet material of a uniform thickness throughout its length and width, said strip being substantially U-shaped for a major portion of its length and terminating in outwardly widened end portions converging rearwardly, said end portions having inner side edges merging into and constituting continuations of the inner side edge of the U-shaped portion, end edges of said end portions being arcuate transversely of the full width thereof and merging into inner and outer side edges of the Ushaped portion of the strip, said strip being formed along the inner edge of its U- shaped portion with a line of perforations, a band of soft flexible material extending along said strip under the inner edge of the U-shaped portion thereof and formed with perforations aligned with the perforations in said strip, a net constituting a crown for the shield and having front and side portions of its marginal edge disposed between said band and the perforated edge portion of said strip and having a free rear edge portion extending between the ends of the band, and a tie cord laced in and 6ut through the openings in the strip and the band and through the marginal portion of the net between the band and the strip and having elongated free end portions of a length adapting them to be tied together and draw the enlarged end portions of the strip into overlapping relation to each other at the back of a persons head.

UGO TORRICELLI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,764,912 Caster-Udell June 17, 1930 2,082,346 Lavenson June 1, 1937 2,112,916 Linden Apr. 5, 1938 2,242,555 Thurnherr May 20, 1941 2,286,287 Livingston June 16, 1942 2,319,656 Berg May 18, 1943 2,446,122 Bills July 27, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 369,766 Italy Mar. 29, 1939 919,468 France Nov. 25, 1946 946,125 France Dec. 6, 1948 

